TAMPA, Fla. – Six individuals who are part of the Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Transnational Criminal Organization have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute cocaine using vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (U.S.). Fernando Pineda-Jimenez, a/k/a “Padrino,” 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy...

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Alvaro Vivero Rendon was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $20 million. Vivero pleaded...

HOUSTON – Two alleged members of one of the most serious transnational criminal organizations will make their initial appearances in U.S. federal court on charges of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia. This is the first time believed members of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación...

DALLAS – A Colombian man was sentenced to nearly three decades in federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Manuel Camilo Renteria Lemus, 37, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2020, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribution of cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States. Lemus was sentenced to...

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Carlos Gentil Ordonez Martinez was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $10 million. Ordonez...

DALLAS – A Honduran man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Oscar Ruiz Colon, 41, pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing it would be...

DALLAS - A Costa Rican man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced today by the DEA Dallas Field Division. Felipe Espinoza-Cruz, 49, pleaded guilty on Feb. 3, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine...

DALLAS – A Guatemalan man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced by DEA Dallas Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chavez. Jose Ramon Reyes Villagran, 37, pleaded guilty on Sep. 1, 2020, to conspiracy to import cocaine into...

MIAMI - Last night, federal law enforcement officers arrested a foreign elected official charged in the United States (U.S.) with drug trafficking, following the official’s international flight from the Dominican Republic to Miami. Fifty-eight-year-old Miguel Andres Gutierrez Diaz, of Santiago, is an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies of...

NEW YORK - Roman Narvaez Ansazoy, the founder and principal leader of an international drug trafficking enterprise based in Colombia, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to leading a continuing criminal enterprise as charged in a superseding indictment. When sentenced, Narvaez will face a mandatory minimum term of...